A Spring Blossoms
by Pharaohess1
Summary: Happy birthday AtlDesi! This is a birthday fic for AtlDesi. A oneshot about Kenshin and Kaoru, pretty cannon. All reviews are appreciated. My first posted fic, so be gentle. KxK


HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATLDESI!

Hello everybody! I'm officially an authoress now:does a dance: This isn't _THE_ story I've been working on since last October, but I'm hoping it's still good. Bear in mind that this is my first story posted. I'll appreciate any comments flames or no. But, if you wish to send a flame, at least have some valid points.

My apologies to all my friends in the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom, AtlDesi isn't a huge fan of YGO, so I couldn't write a story about that for her present, now could I? I hope you will read and review anyway. And no, it's not yaoi either, but please, bear with me, the yaoi will come, trust me

Anyway, as I've said before, this is a birthday present for AtlDesi. Her birthday party is in :checks watch: one hour and one minute, so I gotta hurry and post it. - AtlDesi: I hope you have a killer sweet sixteen, and I will truly miss you when you leave me here in GA all by my lonesome. You'd better not forget all of us down here in the South Happy Birthday!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, so no suing kay?

Warnings: Ummm….. nothing serious. Lots of warm and fuzzy feelings, so if you're terrified of fluff, run, run far far away.

Well, I think that's it, so on with the story -

The dojo was silent… almost too much so. _Where could everybody be?_ Kenshin thought, looking around while he was doing laundry behind the kitchen. It had been five years since the end of the Enishi's attack on their lives. It seemed like such a long time, but to Kenshin, it passed by in a flash. The swordsman, after much consideration, had finally stopped wandering and stayed permanently at the Kamiya Kasshin dojo. Well, with all the friends he'd made in Tokyo, he didn't have much of a choice. Sanosuke, Kaoru, Yahiko, Tae, and even Saito, didn't even give him the option of leaving.

He was no longer a rurouni, he was just Himura Kenshin.

Abandoning his laundry duties, Kenshin went in search of the missing members of the dojo. These days it was never quiet anywhere near the training area. Swordsmanship had made a huge comeback, and there were quite a few people willing to learn it; much to Kaoru's delight. On top of that Yutaro had returned from Germany and rejoined the dojo- much to Yahiko's dismay.

The two men were always jabbing at each other, both ignoring the fact that they were both around twenty and should have given up such childish squabbles long before. That, along with the steady sounds of practice made for a very loud dojo.

But now all was silent…

Kenshin explored the kitchen, finding it empty, as was their bedrooms. The training area was bare too. Kenshin scratched his head. _Did they go to practice at another dojo today? _he wondered. _No, Miss Kaoru always tells me when they were going elsewhere. _He continued his search, but finding nothing, he ascended to the rooftops to get a better view.

He was just about to give up when, he saw a figure down by the river behind the dojo's walls. He leapt down from the roof and headed to the back entrance of the dojo. Walking down to the bank, he couldn't help looking up and admiring the fresh cherry blossoms. Some still had traces of dew from this morning. Kenshin loved this time of year. Everything was so fresh and green. Everybody's always cheerful and there isn't any fighting. _A time for new beginnings,_ he thought.

As he drew closer to the figure downstream from him, his breath caught. It was Kaoru. Sure, he'd seen Kaoru many times, but not like this.

For years, she had worked tirelessly to rebuild the dojo's reputation. It had taken a lot of work, and a lot of penny-pinching, but it had all paid off to see the first new student wander in. Even though the dojo was back on its feet, Kaoru still hadn't let up in her efforts. She was constantly training herself or her students, never relaxing, never calm.

Well, at least it would seem like that to the untrained eye. But, to Kenshin's eye, he could tell that when Kaoru trained, she _was_ at peace. He could understand that, for he'd experienced it himself. Every time he drew a blade, he entered an altered state. It allowed you to attack and defend with ease, not thinking, just feeling.

But now it seemed as if Kaoru had let it all go. She sat on the riverbank, still in her training uniform, just staring at the gently flowing water. She had tucked a cherry blossom sprig behind her ear, her dark hair running down her back.

The former rurouni blinked; his legs locked. The emotions that had been steadily growing for the past few years overtook his body. As far as he could tell, it was a need to be strong, protective, and impressive; all at the same time, and all for Kaoru. So far, he had always been able to push such feelings to the back of his mind, but now… he couldn't. Heat gathered in his chest, and an intense pressure built that demanded to be let out.

Suddenly, Kaoru turned his way, sensing another's presence. Spotting the man standing a few feet away, she smiled.

It was those smiles that could render Kenshin's body useless, the way it slowly spread across her face, lighting up anything around her. It was sudden… surprising… devastating. He smiled back, bathing in the warm glow of her happiness.

Her voice broke through the silence, tearing him from his thoughts. "I can't figure out for the life of me where everybody is. I was all ready for practice and when I got out there… no students. Yahiko and Yutaro are even gone, it's really strange." She turned back to the river, her eyes following a single leaf around the maze of rocks.

"Maybe they decided to give you the day off, you certainly earned it," Kenshin said, sitting next to her in the grass. "I swear, one of these days you're just going to wear out, given how much you push yourself."

"I can relax…. once I'm married, have children, and can no longer hold a sword," Kaoru said, drawing her knees up and resting her head on them. "And since that's not likely to happen anytime soon, I figure I have a while before I have to worry about such things-like wearing myself out."

"Miss Kaoru, I wouldn't be so quick to make judgments. There may be someone out there right now desparate to be with you," Kenshin said, his raging emotions getting leverage over his common sense.

"I doubt it. Plus, the only one I can even imagine being with, doesn't hold _any _feelings for me whatsoever," she said, sighing heavily.

Kenshin thought his chest was going to explode. _How could this happen? How could he not tell that she was already taken!_

_Wait! You shouldn't have any qualms with this! You don't harbor such feelings for Kaoru-dono, _another voice shouted in his mind.

_Yes, I don't, but still…_ his mind said.

_You _do _love her don't you? Ha! I knew it!_

_What? No! I can't, it would be dishonorable! I dragged Kaoru-dono into too many incidents as it is. If I become more than just a person living in her dojo she'll be used against me. Sure, my main enemies are defeated, but there are others. You don't kill thousands to make friends. No, I can't, I won't!_

"Kenshin? Are you ok?" Kaoru asked, concerned at his sudden silence.

"Hmm? Oh, yes Kaoru-dono, I am fine," he responded. "So," he said, taking a mental leap, "who is this person you can picture being together with? Do I know him?"

"Well, yes and no. You do know him, but you'll never find out who it is. He's kinda short, very strong, and _very_ protective. The main thing that got me though… was his eyes," she said, sighing.

_How come I've never heard of this guy? Kaoru's obviously obsessed, but I've never met him. Have I? Could it be someone at the dojo? _Kenshin thought.

"Just tell me one thing: it's not Saito is it?" Kenshin asked tentatively.

"What? No way! Plus, he's got Misao's aunt's half-cousin's daughter twice removed to deal with. I don't think he'll ever be able to get rid of her.

"Well, let's see, who else?" Kenshin said, lying back on the grass, admiring the patterns of leaves against the sky. "Sano? No, he's too tall. Well, what's your definition of short?"

"Oh, about your height I'd say," Kaoru responded.

Kenshin shot back up. "It's not Yahiko is it?" he asked in dismay.

She blinked. "WHAT?" she shouted. "Do you honestly think I'd do that? That's just wrong! To my own student no less! I'm almost ten years older than him!" She turned her back on him, not believing that he'd even _think _that.

"Gomen Kaoru-dono, but I had to know," Kenshin said, putting his hand on her shoulder. She huffed angrily, but turned back around.

"Well, that about eliminates all the possible candidates, not many people are shorter than me," Kenshin said after a few minutes thought.

Kaoru looked troubled. She was glancing everywhere but directly at him. Staring down at the ground, she murmured something he couldn't quite hear.

"What?" he asked softly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I-I can tell you, if you want," Kaoru said in a rush. "Or well, maybe show you."

"He's here?" Kenshin asked in disbelief. He looked up and down the river, but there wasn't a soul to be seen. He turned to look behind him, but it was deserted. "He turned his head back around to face Kaoru and suddenly realized how close they had gotten. She had grabbed his hand, and looked up uncertainly into his violet eyes.

In those eyes, he saw a range of emotion that he never though possible. There was trust, passion, nervousness… and something he couldn't quite put his finger on. It was so familiar, but so… strange to see it on her face. Her bright blue eyes grew closer and closer. Soon he couldn't tell the difference between her eyes and the sky behind her.

He couldn't think, he couldn't move, only stare as her face inched closer to his, her breath mingling with his. When the two finally met, it was like a spark had jumped across the link. All the emotions he'd been pushing behind him had broken free and rushed to the surface. His body was no longer numb; it was on fire. He reached behind her neck and deepened the kiss, bringing a whole new layer of feelings forward. Sometime, both of their eyes had slid shut, allowing the two to fully explore the sense of touch.

When they finally broke apart - for that ridiculous need called air, Kenshin rested his forehead on hers. His violet eyes searched hers for answers to unspoken questions. She smiled and gave them to him. His face too broke out into a gentle smile.

Somewhere behind the two, they could hear cheering and clapping. They both jerked their head up to find all the members of the dojo and all of their friends running down the riverbank towards them from a strand of trees downstream from them. Within moments the two were surrounded with clamoring students and friends.

"I knew you could do it!" Kei, a new student said, shaking Kenshin's hand vigorously.

"Congratulations," Tae said to Kaoru, giving the other woman a hug.

Sano came up to Kenshin and clapped him on the back. "Always knew this day would come, just didn't think it'd take this long," he said, giving Kenshin a wide smile. Megumi followed Sano after a quick, "Don't forget I'm always here if you get bored", and a wink for Kenshin.

The newly-made couple were so overwhelmed by the crowd that they weren't able to say a word until everybody had given them some sort of congratulations. Even Saito showed up, with Aiesa in tow (Misao's Aunt's half-cousin, ect).

"What on earth is going on here?" Kaoru asked, glaring at everybody, "did all of you plan this?"

"No, I did," said a voice behind them. They turned to find Yahiko standing on a boulder behind them with a goofy smile plastered on his face. "I knew that you two were going to break sometime, I just couldn't find out what you needed. Then it hit me, you two couldn't get together because of all of us. So Yutaro and I convinced everybody to not come to practice today. I knew that you wouldn't have anything to do, so you'd have to come to terms with your feelings. You just needed some time to yourselves. And I was right, it worked!"

Kenshin had come behind Kaoru and had wrapped his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. "And we are very grateful to you Yahiko, you too Yutaro," he added, nodding. He reached and leaned around Kaoru and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Now, I'm going to go finish that laundry Koi," he said, starting off towards the dojo.

"Hold it!" Kaoru shouted at her trainees. "Just because I'm in love, doesn't mean that I'm going to go easy on you." The youths groaned. "And plus, all of you missed practice today, so double rounds for each and every one of you," she told them, grinning. The group moaned again, starting up the hill.

"I want you running!" Kaoru yelled, jogging past her troops.

Back in the dojo, Kenshin smiled at the sounds of rigorous training. _Now that's more like it,_ he thought, _I knew I liked this time of year._

Again, reviews are VERY appreciated


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